The demons he’d find there weren’t just dark.
They were dangerous.
* * *
“How do you know Puck?” I asked thirty minutes later, unable to stand the thick silence for another moment. Cade was driving me back to The Sea Witch, and he was not in the mood for chit-chat. He’d said not a word since we left the Goodfellow garage, bidding his friend farewell with a fist-bump, then walking back to his SUV with such long strides, I had to jog to keep up.
He blew out a breath. “I met him on my first case in town. String of thefts targeting the cars in his lot, along with some of the others in that area. I caught the thieving fuck and got him locked up for a dime on felony GTA charges. The rest is history.”
“Ten years in prison for stealing cars?”
He nodded. “We aren’t talking about your standard Camrys and Hondas, here. Puck is one of the best in the business when it comes to restoring classic cars, repairing luxury models. Did you notice the Aston Martin in the bay next to yours?”
I had, in fact. I’d also not missed the black-on-black Lamborghini parked beside it. It looked like the freaking Batmobile.
“My car doesn’t exactly screamclassicorluxury,” I felt the need to point out.
“No.” A smile twitched at Cade’s mouth. “Puck is making an exception for us.”
I processed this for a moment, not sure how I felt about being an exception. Or anus.
“Anyway, after the case wrapped up, I started bringing my bike to Goodfellow for service.”
“Bike as in motorcycle?”
His mouth twitched again. “Puck doesn’t handle two-wheelers, Goldie. But he’s top-notch when it comes to Harleys.”
“You drive a Harley?”
“Is that a surprise?”
“Um… sort of. I mean, you’re a cop. Cops are all about following the rules, driving the speed limit, et cetera.”
His eyes cut to mine when we stopped at a red light. His wrist was slung over the wheel as he leaned back in his seat. “You make the acquaintance of a lot of cops in your lifetime?”
Damn and blast!
I’d walked right into that one.
“No,” I lied. “I’m just… speculating.”
“Mhm.” He looked like he knew I was lying, but he didn’t push me on it. “Turns out, I’m not that big on rules, Goldie. I’m also not a big fan of taking beautiful women out to dinner in the same squad car I use for criminals and degenerates.”
“Oh,” I murmured, pressing my hands into my thighs. I was trying very hard not to think about what it would be like to climb on the back of a motorcycle, wrap my arms around Cade’s middle, and ride off into the sunset. Or, at least, to a nice dinner somewhere. Something about the look on his face told me he was thinking about it too, which should’ve freaked me out but, instead, made a warm, fuzzy, unfamiliar sort of feeling bloom in the pit of my stomach.
I was staring at him again, and I couldn’t look away. The longer my eyes lingered on his face, the heavier the air in the SUV grew. I swallowed hard, trying to get my faculties in order, and Cade’s eyes flickered down to watch the bob of my throat. When they moved back up to mine, the heat in them made that warm, fuzzy feeling in my gut ratchet up by several degrees, then spread unmistakably southward.
Oh boy.
I shifted on the seat, pressing my thighs together, hoping it might stop the spreading heat. I thought I was subtle about it, but Cade did not miss the infinitesimal movement. His eyes flared with an attraction that matched mine and he leaned across the center console, eyes locked on my mouth as the gap between us shrank in slow degrees. I kept perfectly still as he came at me.
Was he going to kiss me?
Did I want him to kiss me?
The very thought of his lips on mine was enough to inspire paralysis. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. My bloodstream was on fire, the heat between my legs?—
Beeeeeep.